Parchment-Baked Spaghetti & Meatballs

Spaghetti + Meatballs + Tomato Sauce = Happiness.

This week crawled by, and by 4 pm Friday I wanted some serious comfort food. Fleecy pajamas, fuzzy slippers, and a glass of 2008 Layer Cake Shiraz eased my transition to weekend mode.

This recipe caught my eye and I completely failed to escape it's carb-and-meat-fueled grip on my soul. I knew it wouldn't take much to convince Adam; it took just one word: Meatballs.

Par-cooking and baking in parchment both give this meal a special touch. The sauce thickens and coats the spaghetti, cooking it perfectly despite the short boiling time. Satisfaction, achieved.

With any recipe, use your imagination! Use ground beef, ground veal, sausage, or whatever strikes your fancy. Let's talk about tomatoes. I highly recommend you find and stock some canned San Marzano tomatoes - diced, crushed and whole. Why such a fuss over canned tomatoes? Winter tomatoes suck. Even here in sunny California, they completely lack summer tomato character. San Marzano, Italy is known for producing some of the world's finest tomatoes; particularly for making sauces. They've even been officially designated as the only tomatoes allowed in Vera Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza). In a nutshell (or a can!) these tomatoes are your friends - get some!




nom...

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 - 8" Hot Italian Sausage
• 1/2 lb Ground Veal and 1 lb Ground Beef (or 1 1/2 lb ground meatloaf meat - usually a good mix)
• 2 cups breadcrumbs (from day old baguette or rustic loaf) or 1 3/4 cups Panko
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 3 Tbsp minced parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
• 1 egg, beaten
• salt and cracked pepper
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• shaved or grated Parmesan (the good stuff, please)
• 1 lb spaghetti
• parchment paper (oven safe! NOT wax paper!)

• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• salt and cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sauce: Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in stock pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, celery and carrot and saute 3-5 minutes.
2. Add crushed tomatoes, add whole tomatoes (crushing lightly with your hand), and all the rest of the ingredients.
3. Cover and reduce heat to a low simmer while you do everything else.
4. Meatballs: In small bowl, mix milk and breadcrumbs. Squeeze breadcrumbs to remove excess liquid. Discard liquid.
5. Mix meat, garlic, onion, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper with breadcrumbs. Add beaten egg. Mix with hands to distribute evenly.
6. Refrigerate in bowl for 15 minutes.
7. Bring water to boil in a large pot (for pasta). Preheat oven to 350'. Prepare large baking sheet by tearing two 18" pieces of parchment paper. Fold each sheet in half and then in half the other way. Open and lay one piece down on baking sheet. Set aside.
8. Create meatballs by rolling 1"-2" balls and setting aside on cutting board.
9. Heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high in large non-stick or cast iron skillet or pan.
10. Add meatballs to pan and brown on all sides. Should take about 5-8 minutes total.
11. Remove meatballs to plate.
12. Boil spaghetti for 3 minutes only.
13. Drain and toss with as much sauce as you like.
14. Place pasta / sauce on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Arrange meatballs on top. Top with a generous sprinkling of parmesan.
15. Place other sheet of parchment on top. Crimp edges together (I kind of crimped and rolled) to form a tight packet, sealing the pasta completely.
16. Bake for 15 minutes.
17. Remove, plate and garnish with additional Parmesan if desired.

Edited slightly on 3/9/10 after making this again. The egg helps the meatballs stay together during cooking and helps seal the moisture in. I ran out of breadcrumbs and used panko instead - we liked it better!!! Our butcher has a really nice meatloaf mix he makes of various ground meat - it was fantastic. Some beef, veal, lamb. Really good.

Lighter Lobster Corn Chowder

Chowder? Light? Am I off my rocker? No more so than usual.

I love dairy. I love, love, love it. Dairy, however, doesn't really love me back. Not only that, many dairy products are high in fat and calories - completely contrary to my healthy eating regimen. I firmly believe in eating a balanced diet containing everything in moderation. Bacon will not kill you. Neither will butter. Nor meat, a glass of wine, or good old mashed potatoes. I've found that my body is happiest in harmony with fresh, whole foods as unprocessed as possible. Reducing and removing fake white foods from my diet (white flour, white sugar, refined, nutrient-removed ingredients) I've found that I have tons of energy and that my body is happy, healthy and strong.

Being healthy doesn't imply eating tasteless, boring food, but it requires creativity! We wanted to use a few lobster tails we bought on sale (frozen) in a rich, comforting chowder similar to this one, but lighter for a mid-week meal. After a bit of brainstorming, we decided to try a cauliflower puree to thicken the base in lieu of the heavy cream that traditionally thickens chowder. I refused to part with my starting touch of bacon, because the flavor that bacon imparts is irreplaceable! I also used a splash of cream for color.

Hooray for replacing high fat, high calorie cream with a vegetable! Cauliflower is high in vitamin C (1 cup has almost 100% of your daily requirement), vitamin K, folate, fiber and very few calories!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 2+ 6oz lobster tails (use more if you have them! Feel free to use shrimp, or whatever's handy)
• 3 thin slices or 1 thick slice bacon, diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 tsp jalapeno, minced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small poblano or pasilla chili diced
• about 1 cup corn kernels (canned, frozen or fresh)
• 1 can creamed corn
• 2 bottles clam juice
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• salt, cracked pepper, cayenne powder
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/4 cup milk
  
• 2 potatoes (small), cubed
  
• 1/4 cup minced chives
• splash of cream (under 1/4 cup)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil with lid on and simmer until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Steam cauliflower florets until very tender. Allow to cool slightly. Place in food processor with 1/4 cup milk and puree until as smooth as possible. Set aside. (Can be done in batches, if necessary).
3. Place diced bacon in soup pot and bring to heat over medium-high. Cook for 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, poblano, bell pepper, celery, carrot and jalapeno and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Saute for 5-8 minutes until tender and fragrant.
4. Add clam juice, corn and creamed corn along with as much chicken broth as you'd like. (If you like chunkier chowder, then use less. If you like thinner chowder, use more).
5. Add cauliflower puree, salt, pepper and cayenne.
6. As the soup heats (over a nice simmering medium), the cauliflower will continue to disintegrate, thickening the soup. Simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, steam lobster tails about 5 minutes. Remove from shell and chop into bite size pieces.
   
8. Add potatoes, lobster and chives to soup. Adjust seasonings.
9. Stir in cream, heat through and serve!
   

Pizza Soup with Mozzarella Breadsticks

Hey there, campers! It’s your friendly neighborhood .ЯR. here with my first solo post on the Bite Me Kitchen.

A few weeks ago, Rose and I made a Wild Mushroom Soup that we both loved. It reminded me vaguely of a liquefied mushroom pizza, and once my mind linked the words pizza and soup, I became obsessed with crafting a soup based on my favorite pizza: Italian Sausage, Mushroom, and Onion. You may think ‘obsessed’ is just exaggeration, but Rose swears I woke her up in the middle of the night, said the words “pizza soup”, and promptly fell back asleep. I flatly deny this.

Everyone knows a pizza has 3 main ingredients: crust, sauce, and cheese. The soup would take care of the sauce, so I had only to incorporate the crust and cheese to accomplish my mission. I considered making it a’la French Onion Soup, but it seemed like a mess, and hard to do more than a bowl or two at a time using only our counter-top convection oven.

Enter: Mozzarella-Filled Garlic Breadsticks. Problem solved. Add some spears of mozzarella to some store-bought pizza dough, and voila! Pizza soup: Done.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb Italian chicken (or pork) sausage
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 10 cups chopped mushrooms (roughly 2 portabellos, 2 large handfuls of oyster mushrooms, 30 creminis and a handful of button mushrooms). Large mushrooms sliced, small mushrooms quartered.
• 1 Tbsp crushed fennel seed
• 1/2 cup + fresh Basil, chiffonaide
• 5 Tbsp dried Oregano (or 1/3 cup minced fresh)
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• salt and pepper
• crushed red pepper
• 3-32oz cartons chicken stock
• 1/2 cup pearled barley
• 1-16oz container reduced fat sour cream

• 1 package fresh pizza dough (Trader Joe's is perfect)
• Mozzarella cheese, cut into sticks 1/4" thick
• Garlic oil, for brushing (if you don't have, use regular olive oil)
• Garlic salt (or mix garlic powder and salt)

DIRECTIONS:

Soup:

1. Brown sausage in large stock pot over medium high heat.
2. Remove with slotted spoon and transfer to paper-towel lined bowl to drain.
3. Add onions and garlic to remaining sausage fat and cook until beginning to turn golden.
4. Add mushrooms, and saute until softened about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add sherry, half basil, half oregano, crushed fennel seeds, salt and pepper and cook until the alcohol smell has evaporated.
6. Add 2 cartons chicken stock, rest of herbs, crushed red pepper and sausage, simmer uncovered 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile bring 1 carton of chicken broth to a boil in small pot. Add 1/2 cup pearled barley, stir and cover, reducing heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
8. Add barley and any remaining liquid to the soup pot.
9. Ladle 1-2 cups soup into a mixing bowl. Stir in sour cream. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup and sour cream together. If you don't have an immersion blender, use a blender or food processor.
10. Return soup to pot and simmer for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings.
11. Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with shaved parmesan and serve with breadsticks (see below)

Mozzarella Breadsticks

1. Preheat oven to 450'
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Slice mozzarella into sticks about 1/4" wide.
4. Divide dough into golf ball sized portions.
5. Roll each out into breadsticks, about the diameter of a nickel.
6. Press mozzarella stick into the breadstick and pinch dough over the top to enfold the mozzarella completely.
7. Place on baking sheet, brush with garlic oil and sprinkle generously with salt.
8. Bake until golden brown (about 8-10 minutes).

Weeknight Chili with Wheat Berries

In case you hadn't heard, it's raining in southern California. We are actually having what the rest of the country considers winter. Even as I type, I get Severe Weather alerts on my laptop. They alert me to the continuing rain, as if the windows weren't a big enough clue. Never fear dear reader, we are safe here at The Bite Me Kitchen and neither of us are prone to melting from a little water.

You know what's better than finally being home at the end of a long day at work, in fresh fleecy pajamas, while rain patters outside? All of the above with a big bowl of chili. Trust me, it rocks. Chili doesn't have to mean pounds of ground meat sizzling with fat and flavor. Chili can be redefined, refined, and crafted to encompass a whole slew of nutrients.

Please say hello to our new friend, Wheat Berry. They are whole, unprocessed wheat kernels and are high in protein and fiber. Fiber and protein make you feel fuller faster and keeps your belly happy for longer. This is the whole grain Holy Grail: the unprocessed kernel complete with endosperm, bran, and germ. It's what your white bread is made out of after they take out: fiber, folic acid, protein, B-complex vitamins, and vitamin E.

These one-pot meals are a great way to get your fresh vegetables. Dice up whatever you have handy and try to tuck in a wide variety of colors. Use any lean ground meat you have, or for a vegetarian version, omit the ground meat (or use soy crumbles) and use vegetable broth in lieu of chicken broth.

Enjoy!


Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup wheat berries
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 1/4-1/2 lb lean ground meat
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large yellow bell pepper,chopped
• 1 large poblano (or pasilla) chili, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 2 cans black beans, undrained
• 1- 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp Chili powder
  
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Cayenne
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine broth and wheatberries in small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour until berries have split open and are chewy.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in large pan over high heat. Add meat and saute until browned.
3. Add onions and garlic, saute until fragrant 2 minutes.
4. Add peppers of all kinds, and saute 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, beans and spices. Stir to heat through, about 5 minutes.
6. Adjust spices as necessary. We like stuff hot, so increase the heat. I usually don't even measure, I go by color!
7. Simmer chili for 15 minutes.
8. Add wheat berries, stir through.
9. Serve and garnish with cilantro.
   

Gnocchi with Swiss Chard, Cannelini Beans and Tomatoes

I can't stop eating this dish. I think I need an intervention. The week begins and already I'm plotting which day I'll slip in this meal.

It has everything you need to keep you full, satisfied, and coming back for more! Tucked into this seemingly indulgent meal are leafy dark greens (vitamins, minerals, and fiber), low-fat proteins, whole grains, tomatoes (lycopene and vitamins), and beans (fiber and protein). The rich flavors masquerade as a decadent Italian pasta dish so well that you hardly notice how healthy is is! Spicy chicken sausage, a generous sprinkling of dried herbs and finely grated Parmesan provide a flavor boost!

Even if you think you don't like gnocchi, give this version a try. Instead of the traditional soggy pillows of tasteless goop, this gnocchi preparation stands a out with nutty flavor and toothsome texture. Check your market for "shelf stable" gnocchi that is on the shelf (non-refrigerated) and is sealed in airtight plastic. I use whole wheat if available, but as always, use what is on hand! If you absolutely, positively, refuse to try gnocchi there is still hope for you: you can substitute pasta - perhaps medium-sized shells.

We usually make the portion for 4 and save the rest for the next day's lunch ! It reheats perfectly in a pan or in the microwave.

Inspired by Eating Well
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 package (+/- 1 lb) Italian Chicken sausage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 16-ounce package gnocchi (wheat or white, dry packed - not frozen)
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 cups chopped swiss chard
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (preferrably San Marzano)
• 1 15-ounce can cannelini beans, rinsed
• cracked pepper, salt, chili flakes
• 1 tsp ea dried oregano, dried basil
• 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat wok or chef's pan over medium-high. Remove chicken sausage from casing and add to pan. Break up with spatula. Continue cooking until browned, about 5-6 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add gnocchi to remaining chicken sausage oil and cook, flipping occassionally. They may stick to the pan. Add 1/4 cup water and cover loosely so that the gnocchi steam in the pan. Continue cooking until plump and done to taste (yes, you get to eat a few!) They should taste soft and not floury. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add 1 Tbsp oil, onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Add chard and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice, beans, salt, herbs, pepper and bring to a simmer.
4. Cook until everything is well heated and the chard is softened. Stir in the gnocchi and heat through.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with shaved parmesan!

Seared Duck with Fig Balsamic Reduction & Potato-Pear Hash

DUCK! No, no, I'm not throwing things, I'm cooking!

I've never cooked duck before. Granted, this is just a duck breast, so it seemed like no big deal.  It wasn't until I had the damn thing in the pan that I wondered how one knows it's done.  It's thick and it's a bird, so like chicken it can't be served partially cooked.  Nervously, I forged ahead and emerged successful!

I had a bit of an unfair advantage when it came to the reduction...this wonderful woman Velma gave us a jar of Fig Conserve that she made for Christmas.  I've been eyeing that cute little jar ever since and when this recipe came to mind, I knew her conserve would be just the thing to push it from good to perfect.  Was I ever right!  I will have to see if I can beg or plead the recipe for this stunning fig and citrus medley.

Potato-Pear Hash? With cipollini onions? Cooked in duck fat? Oh yes we did!  Most definitely not one of our healthy week-night meals, this indulgence was completely worth it.  The chunks of pear disintegrated into a sweet, caramelized paste that coats the browned potatoes and the semi-firm onions into complete hash heaven.  Fresh minced sage provides a well-needed savory kick to the fruity pear notes.

Looks impressive, sounds time consuming, but it only takes half an hour!

Valentines Day is coming up....woo your love, woo yourself, woo a complete stranger, whatever it takes, just make this meal!

From Epicurious
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 duck breasts (frozen are okay, just thaw them)
• salt and cracked pepper
• 2 yukon gold potatoes, boiled until just tender, cut into 1" cubes
  
• 1 ripe pear, halved, cored, cut into cubes
• 8 cipollini onions, blanched, peeled and quartered
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

• 1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup high quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fig conserve
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using small sharp knife, score duck skin in 1-inch-wide grid pattern. 
2. Season duck generously with salt and pepper. 
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck; cook about 6 minutes per side for medium. 
4. Transfer to cutting board; tent with foil. 
5. Discard all but 1/4 cup drippings from skillet. Heat drippings in skillet over high heat. 
6. Add pears, onions, and potatoes; sauté until beginning to brown, 6-10 minutes. Stir in sage; season with salt and pepper. Transfer hash to bowl; cover to keep warm.
7. Heat same skillet over high heat. Add broth, fig conserve and vinegar; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Boil until reduced to glaze, about 5 minutes.
8. Divide hash among plates. Cut duck into 1/2-inch-thick slices; fan over hash. Drizzle glaze over and serve.